Carrier



pri 49 3195@ E. L. ERICKSON CARRIER Filed July 8, 1946 INVEN TOR ELLSWORTH L. ERICKSON! ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 4, 1950 CARRIER Ellsworth L. Erickson, Minneapolis, Minn., as-

signor to Crown Iron" Works Co., Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Application July 8, 1946, Serial No. 681,869 i claim. (C1. 22o-19) My invention relates to carriers and particularly to luggage carriers for use in conjunction with motor Vehicles.

An object of the invention resides in providing a carrier which may be placed on the top of a motor vehicle and which will 'be light in weight and sturdy in construction.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a carrier which offers a minimum amount of resistance to the travel of the motor vehicle.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing a carrier which will not collect and hold Water.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a carrier which can be constructed from reticulate sheet material and readily fabricated to form the body structure of the carrier.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter illustrated and/or described.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a carrier illustrating an embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a. perspective view of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 1 and drawn to a greater scale.

Fig. 3 is a plan sectional View taken on line f 3-3 of Fig. 1 and drawn to the same scale as Fig. 2.

In the use of luggage carriers applied to motor vehicles, considerable inconvenience has resulted due to the Wind resistance offered by the carrier when applied to the top of the motor vehicle. In addition, the added weight has been found undesirable and when such construction has been made of sheet metal, water has collected in the same which frequently discharges at inopportune times. The present invention provides a construction whereby all of these disadvantages are readily overcome.

The invention proper comprises a body structure I0 which is attached to a frame-Work Il. These parts will now be described in detail.

The body structure It is constructed from a sheet of reticulate material such as is ordinarily known in the trade as wire mesh. This sheet has the corners thereof notched out and the same is bent along lines I2 and I3 to provide a bottom I4, side walls I5 and end walls I6. The walls I5 and I6 extend upwardly and the ends 2I and 22 of the same meet to form the corners of the body structure. It Will thus be seen that all of the parts of the body structure are integral and are formed from a single piece of the material.

LII)

The frame-work I I consists of uprights I'I which are constructed of angle iron and which have flanges I8vand I9 projecting angularly with respect to one another. These uprights receive the ends 2I and 22 of the walls I5 and IIS and overlie the same as shown in Fig. 2. The anges I9 of the uprights Il extend beyond the flanges I8 as indicated at 23 and these extensions are bent back t0 underlie the ends of the flanges I8. Attached to these extensions are suction cups 24 which are adapted to rest upon the top vof the motor vehicle with which the carrier is to be used. The uprights Il are connected together by means of diagonal frame members 25 and 26 which are formed with mitered ends 2I which are snugly received in the bight formed between the flanges I8 and I3 of the uprights I I. These diagonal frame members underlie the bottom I4 of the body structure I and are welded to the uprights I'I.

Extending about the uppere edges 28 of the walls I5 and I6 is a frame 3|. This frame is U- shaped in cross section having a loop portion 32 forming a bead about the upper edge of the frame and further formed with legs 33 and 34 depending therefrom. The legs 33 and 34 straddle the uppermost portions of the uprights I'I and the walls I5 and I6 and are squeezed tightly upon the same so as to hold the said parts in position. In addition, the legs 33 of the said frame are welded to the uprights I'I.

In the use of the invention, the carrier is placed on the top of a motor vehicle with the suction cups 24 resting thereon. This supports the carrier and the said suction cups transmit the load taken by the carrier to the vehicle top. By means of straps, clamps or other suitable construction, which does not form any particular feature of the instant invention and which employ hooks adapted to be hooked to the mesh of the Walls I5 or over the frame 3I, the carrier can be rigidly secured in position. Once having been properly attached, the carrier can be left so supported and need not be removed. This permits of having the carrier at all times available for use and Without the necessity of installing the carrier every time the same yis desired for use. In the use of the carrier, the bundles, packages or other articles to be carried in the same, are placed therein and straps or cords run about the articles to hold the same in place. Such straps or cords may be threaded through the mesh of the Various walls of the body structure at any desired locality and the same thus rigidly held in position.

The advantages of my invention are manifest. The device is extremely simple in construction and can be fabricated at a nominal expense. The device is light in weight and extremely rigid and sturdy in construction. The body structure being constructed of reticulate material does not hold water and provides innumerable openings through which fastenings may be run both for the purpose of holding the carrier in position and for holding the articles in place within the carrier. Due to the fact that the walls of the carrier are reticulate, a minimum resistance to the travel of the vehicle results. By the use of the diagonal frame members, this resistance is further cut down. Were corner frame members also employed at the lower portions of the carrier, further resistance to the travel of the vehicle would result.

Changes in the specic form of my invention, as herein described, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

A carrier for use on motor Vehicles comprising a body structure formed from a sheet of reticulate material notched at the corners and bent upwardly along horizontal lines to form a bottom and sides and ends integral therewith, angle shaped uprights having diverging flanges forming reentrant angles, and disposed at the corners of the body structure with the meeting edges of the side and end walls received within said reentrant angles, said uprights extending below the bottom of said lbody structure, a rectangular frame U-shaped in cross section and having spaced depending legs extending about the same, said legs straddling the upper edges of the sides and ends of the body structure and the upper ends of said uprights, said uprights being welded to said frame, diagonal cross bars rectangular in form and extending diagonally across said body structure upon the under side of the bottom thereof, said bars having V-shaped ends fitting into the reentrant angles of said uprights and being welded thereto, the lowermost end of one of the anges of each of said uprights being bent inwardly to form a. support for attaching means for the carrier and the other flange of each of said uprights being removed at the locality of bend of said rst named flanges.

ELLSWORTH L. ERICKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 797,871 Smith Aug. 22, 1905 969,879 Kailson Sept. 13, 1910 1,644,472 Hatch Oct. 4, 1927 1,748,282 Ellis Feb. 25, 1930 1,849,505 Ondraskik Mar. 15, 1932 1,950,921 Gray Mar. 13, 1934 1,983,153 Swerdloi Dec, 4, 1934 2,009,721 Williams July 30, 1935 2,134,635 LeBouef Oct. 25, 1938 

